Page 144 - Bonhams May 11th 2017 London Fine Chinese Art

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THREE RARE FAMILLE ROSE RECTANGULAR PLAQUES
Signed Wang Qi, cyclically dated gengwu and xinwei years
corresponding to 1930 and 1931 and of the periods
All enamelled in a refined famille rose palette with dated inscriptions
relating to the scene; two plaques portraying the luohan Budai and
Bodhidharma, each with a four-character zhuanshu title, painted red
seal mark of the artist, with a twelve and thirteen-character kaishu
inscription respectively; the third plaque depicting a scholar being
served wine by his young attendant, accompanied by a twenty-eight-
character kaishu inscription and a painted red seal mark of the artist,
wood frames.
20.5cm (8in) high x 13cm (5 1/8in) wide (3).

£20,000 - 30,000
CNY170,000 - 260,000

庚午及辛未年（1930及1931年）王琦作
粉彩人物圖瓷板 一組三件

Provenance: an English private collection

來源： 英國私人收藏

Wang Qi (王琦) (1884-1937), also named Bizhen, Taomi Daoren and
Taotao Zhai, was a native of Xinjianxian in Jiangxi province. He went
to Jingdezhen during his 17th year where he soon learnt to paint on
porcelain. He was one of the founding members of the ‘Eight Friends
of Zhushan’, who were amongst the best porcelain artists of the
early 20th century. They were instrumental in revitalising the porcelain
industry after the fall of the Qing dynasty, when Imperial orders for
porcelain at Jingdezhen had ceased.

In 1916, Wang went to Shanghai where he had the opportunity to see
a wide variety of paintings. He was particularly influenced by the artist
Huang Shen (1687-1772), one of the ‘Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou’.
From then on, his work would incorporate cursive calligraphy and
looser brushwork. Later in Wang’s career, he began to extensively
explore mythical subjects from folklore and religion. This is evident in
the present lot with its whimsically exaggerated renderings of folkloric
and mythological figures, accompanied with long and uninhibited
calligraphic inscriptions.

Depicted on one plaque is Budai; a monk purportedly from the Five
Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, whose preternaturally gleeful
demeanour caused him to be identified by some in Chinese folk religion
as the Maitreya, or the reincarnation of Buddha. Another plaque shows
Damo, or Bodhidharma, who is regarded as the first patriarch of Chan
Buddhism in China. Originally an Indian monk living in the 5th or 6th
century, his exotic foreignness is emphasised by his profusely-bearded
demeanor. Compare with a related famille rose plaque depicting
Bodhidharma illustrated in Brush and Clay: Chinese Porcelain of the
Early 20th Century, Hong Kong, 1990, pp.162-163, pl.12.

See also two related famille rose porcelain plaques individually
depicting Budai and Bodhidharma, dated to the renshen year
corresponding to 1932, which were sold in our San Francisco
rooms on 17 December 2013, lot 8353; and see also another
related famille rose porcelain plaque (one of a pair) showing a young
attendant serving tea to an elderly scholar dated to the gengzi year
corresponding to 1900, which was sold in the same rooms on 23
March 2009, lot 3205.

138 | BONHAMS For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.